


Lifeless

by LifeOfRoseAngel



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Cat Ears and Tails, Corpse has cat ears, Implied Attempted Sexual Assault, Loveless inspired lore, M/M, Porn With Plot, Sexual Tension, Soulmates, Sykkuno has cat ears, a looot of sexual tension, in before the angst, this is fiction, this is not real
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:16:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28675821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LifeOfRoseAngel/pseuds/LifeOfRoseAngel
Summary: In a world were everyone has cat ears until the day they lose their virginty, 23 year old Sykkuno is embarrassed to be in college, and the last of his friend group, and still have his. He resolves to do something about it. Little did he know that he'd go out that night and meet his soulmate.A college AU loosely inspired by Loveless lore. Mind the tags.
Relationships: Corpse Husband & Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF), Corpse Husband/Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 47
Kudos: 455





	Lifeless

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mollyroll](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mollyroll/gifts).



> This fic is a gift for the one and only Mollyroll who is a precious cinnamon bun, and totally not because I'm bribing her to keep writing her own fics. As usual: 
> 
> \- This fic is LOOSELY inspired by real people.  
> \- This fic will be REMOVED if either Sykkuno or Corpse states that they are uncomfortable with this kind of shipping.  
> \- Do not harrass them in anyway I mean it
> 
> FIC BETA READ BY JESAN_MIYUUKI, 12/10 WOULD RECOMMEND AS BETAREADER.

The club had been recommended to him by Deli, and most of the time, Sykkuno knew better than to trust his childhood friend on this sort of stuff. She was a people-person, life-of-the-party, liked dancing, crowds and loud music. Sykkuno was none of those things, and his idea of a good time was lying on his couch, alone, with a good book and some lo-fi music for some background noise. This place was dark, grungy and smelled like a combination of alcohol, sweat and acrid cigarette smoke, it stung his nose as he walked in. Black leather couches lined one end of the room, already filled with couples, and Sykkuno’s face flushed bright red, as his eyes caught on a particular couple. She was sitting on his lap, wearing a tight, black leather skirt and a see-through lace blouse, and Sykkuno’s eyes caught on them just as a large, silver-jewelry wearing hand squeezed her hip, and another traced up the side of her thigh. 

He averted his gaze.  _ This is why you’re here _ , he scolded himself.  _ How are you ever gonna lose your ears, if just looking makes you this flustered?  _ His inner voice sounded like Deli. “ _ Just go to Voodoo Lounge, find a hot girl, or guy, whatever, take them home. You’re 23 and in college, Syk, live a little!” _ She’d said. She was right. It was getting embarrassing. None of his friends had their ears anymore. Most’ve them had lost them in high school for pete’s sake. And he was getting tired of the jokes, and the attention they always brought on him. 

He’d hidden both his ears and his tail for this exact reason. Even though the black beanie he was wearing squished his delicate, dark brown ears into his hair, where they sat, atop his head. It didn’t even hide them that well, Sykkuno had adjusted it a thousand times, before he’d left his dorm, but you could still kind of vaguely make out the shape of them beneath the black material. At least his fluffy, white sweater was baggy enough that he could roll his tail around his waist comfortably. Even if the sweater made him stick out like a youth minister at a BDSM convention. All of the other patrons were wearing fishnet shirts, tight leather pants or skirts. 

Silencing all the instincts that screamed at him to run and hide, he moved further into the club, heading straight for the bar. He was going to need some liquid courage. Maybe he should’ve brought Deli, or any of his other friends with him, but just the idea of bringing an audience with him for this, had made him go here by himself. He loved his friends, but they were a howling pack of monkeys when it came to his love life. 

The bar was long, black and lit with vibrant red lights from beneath, there were a few seats but they were all taken, so Sykkuno slotted in beside a large, bulky guy in baggy black pants and a black wife-beater, his arms covered in intricate tattoos. 

“Hi sweetie!” One of the bartenders, blonde, dressed in all black, leaned over the bar, looking at him. “What can I get’cha?” 

“Uhh...” Sykkuno’s eyes flickered over the back wall, which had about fifty different drinks at a wide variety of prices. Yes, yes, he knew some of those words. What the heck was a  _ Dark Avenger _ ? Some sort of superhero themed drink? “A-a... drink?”

“Gonna have to be a little more specific than that, hon,” She laughed. She followed his line of sight. “Oh, no, you don’t want that one. The dark avenger is a tequila shot, salt and lemon, served with a black dildo. We pour the salt on the nuts, and put the lemon on the tip.” Sykkuno paled and stammered incoherently. “Yeah, thought so.” 

_ He wanted to leave.  _ “Just the tequila, no, uhm, no...  _ that. _ ” He fidgeted his wallet out, sliding ten dollars across the bar, fighting to keep a blush down. She took it and walked down the bar, returning with a bottle and five shot glasses, five slices of lemon and a salt shaker. 

He thought about his mother, how she always told him it was good to wait, how it was more special if you waited to lose your ears with your mate, and how she’d look at Sykkuno’s father with adoring eyes, whenever she did. “ _ It’ll feel like a jolt of electricity, and then you’ll know, you two were made for each other _ ” she’d say. He wanted that. But he also wanted to be normal, and not the only virgin in his entire friend group. His soulmate would forgive him. 

_ Right? _

Sykkuno licked the back of his hand - he’d seen this in a movie once - poured salt on the wet patch, licked it, grabbed the tequila shot and threw it back. It didn’t burn like he expected, but it did make his stomach turn and saliva flooded his mouth. He shoved the lemon slice into his mouth, and while the citrus taste did help, he couldn’t repress the shiver that went through his body. Fighting his gag reflex, he did the next three shots in rapid succession.

As he brought the salt back up to re-salt his hand for the final shot, he noticed the large man that had been standing next to him, watching him. He was leaning against the bar, holding a beer bottle, his blue eyes tracking Sykkuno’s movements. 

He watched him drizzle the salt, watched him as he licked the back of his hand with a weird intensity to his eyes. He threw back the shot and bit into the final lemon slice. A large, warm hand touched his shoulder, turning him towards the larger, tattooed man. “You here alone?” 

Sykkuno nodded. “I-i,” he stuttered, his voice catching on the remnants of tequila on his throat. “I’m alone.” His body felt warm with the alcohol, his fingertips tingly, and his head felt light and fluffy, like his brain had turned into candyfloss. 

The large man leaned down. “You wanna go outside?” 

Sykkuno looked at the other man. He was tall, a bit too bulky for Sykkuno’s tastes, his shoulders broad and firm with muscles, he felt so small next to him, but he didn’t look at him like he was fragile or needed protecting. In fact, he kinda looked like he wanted to break him. That should’ve scared him, would’ve scared him, if his candyfloss brain wasn’t in control right now, and it wanted one thing: to get rid of his ears. He could already imagine telling Deli the story tomorrow, how proud and disbelieving she’d be, that he’d been brave.

So he nodded. A smile curled tattoo-man's lips.

*** 

The brickwall felt cool even through Sykkuno’s bulky sweater as the larger man pressed him against it. His kisses were rough, his clean-shaven chin sliding against Sykkuno’s, his tongue invading Sykkuno’s mouth. It felt hot and foreign against his own. Belatedly, he realized he’d never even gotten his name. “What’s your name?” he asked, trying to pull back a little, but the other man chased his mouth. He heard the crisp sound of a zipper being pulled.

“Bryan,” the man, whose name was Bryan, growled, pressing him into the wall. A hand caught one of Sykkuno’s hands, that had been hanging uselessly at his sides, and guided it to soft material, stretched over warm, rock-hard flesh. For a moment, he didn’t know what he was touching, but as the larger man groaned filthily heat flushed into Sykkuno’s face and ears.  _ Oh. I’m touching his cock.  _ Bryan grinded his hips into Sykkuno’s limp, warm hand. The sound of laughter and vague chatting reached Sykkuno’s ears, and he was suddenly painfully aware that he was in a public place, in a damp alley, just a few feet from the club. 

“Uhm, could we, could we maybe go somewhere else?” The grip Bryan had on his wrist was almost bruisingly tight, his breath hot on Sykkuno’s neck. 

“Nah, this’ll be quick, promise” The hand on his wrist released, coming to rest on his shoulder instead. With some force behind his hands, Bryan pushed down on Sykkuno’s shoulders until the smaller man hesitantly kneeled down in front of him. A puddle of rain on the ground started soaking through the knees of his jeans immediately. Bryan’s boxer clothed, straining cock was in his eyeline now. Sykkuno swallowed. His mouth felt dry. This was what he wanted, right?

Bryan pulled the beanie off his head. “Shit, you’re a--” He closed his fist around Sykkuno’s hair, stinging his scalp, and started pulling his cock out. “That’s so fucking hot”

“I-i,” Sykkuno turned his head, his ears going flat on his head. “I changed my mind, I don’t--”

“You okay back there?” Sykkuno hadn’t even noticed the other man walking up, his clothes were dark, blending in with the shadows in the alley. He was wearing a dark hoodie, black cargo pants with silver chains hanging from the belt loop, his face hidden in shadows. His voice was so  _ deep _ .

“We’re fine,” Bryan replied in a clipped tone. “Get lost kid.” 

“Pretty sure I wasn’t talking to you, buddy,” The stranger looked at Sykkuno. He was painfully aware of his position; kneeling down in a dirty alley, with a fist in his hair, a cock just a breath away from his mouth, a deep blush burning his cheeks. “You okay?”

Sykkuno shook his head. 

“Alright, time to go,” The deep voiced stranger advanced on Bryan, his hands coming out of his pockets to form fists. 

Bryan let go of his hair, putting his hands up defensively. “Fine! Shit, man, he followed me out here,” he said, frustration clear in his tone. “Not my fault the little bitch changed his mind.” Bryan spat at the ground, tugging himself back in his pants. 

“You’re gonna wanna be real careful here, I’m fine to let you go back in, enjoy your evening, keep living your shitty life, but I’m a fickle bitch,” He pulled something from his pocket, flicking it open, a glint of metal told Sykkuno it was a knife. “I could change my mind easily.”

“Hey, hey! No need for all that, we’re cool,” Bryan’s voice went to a high octave, as he started backing away. “I’m going.” As he disappeared down the alleyway, Sykkuno started to get up, until he realized he wasn’t wearing his beanie anymore. 

“Oh jesus” He fumbled blindly in the dark, getting his phone out to use its flashlight. 

“You okay?” The deep voice said. Sykkuno heard footsteps as the stranger got closer. “You lose something?” 

“M-my hat,” Panic was setting in as he considered the train ride home, at this time of night, without it. A warm hand touched his shoulder, he flinched away from it, looking up from his position, kneeling on the ground. The stranger was tall. His face was still hidden in shadow, but Sykkuno could make out a vague outline of his body.

“Here. Have mine.” As the man pulled off his own beanie, the outline of a pair of cat ears sprung up in his curly hair. He held the beanie out towards Sykkuno. “Take it... I don’t mind. My shirt has a hood.” 

Sykkuno reached out hesitantly and took it. “Thank you, and, um, thanks for defending me, you didn’t have to.” The stranger didn’t move his hand, now holding it out to help Sykkuno up. Sykkuno took his hands. A jolt of electricity shot up his arm. Both he and the stranger let go immediately. “Jesus!” 

“Uh... no problem.” The stranger shook his hand, as if he was shaking the pain away. He had multiple silver rings on his fingers. His hand had been soft, but his fingers callused, like Sykkuno’s own would get, when he played the bass. Sykkuno stared at him, trying to make out his face, his heart thumping in his chest. “I gotta go. Take care.” His voice was hurried, as he pulled his hood up, turned around and ran, and the ‘ _ wait! _ ’ died on Sykkuno’s lips. 

He’d just met his soulmate. And he hadn’t even gotten his name. 

*** 

After a frantic google search involving the words ‘male, curly hair, deep voice’ all Sykkuno could really conclude was that the internet was a weird place. Other than that, all he knew was that the other man was also a virgin and that his shampoo smelled really good, kind of coconut-y and sweet, judging by the scent of his beanie. Yes, Sykkuno had smelled it. A lot. He might’ve fallen asleep with it pressed against his face. 

It was currently in his backpack, nestled next to his laptop, charger and notebook. He’d brought it with him to class. He kind of wanted to wear it, but part of him was afraid it’d make the scent go away quicker.

The thought of the deep voiced stranger kept him distracted all through his complex numbers lecture, as he thought about how he was going to try to meet this man again. He didn’t want to go back to the Voodoo Lounge, and he didn’t even know if the other man had been a patron there, or if he’d just passed by the alley by complete coincidence. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket. 

**Deli <3 **

So is the deed done? Is my sweet, innocent boy no longer innocent? ;) 

Sykkuno flushed. 

**Sykkuno**

Uhm, no, still have the ears :( 

But something amazing happened :) 

**Deli <3**

OMG, did you meet someone?! 

Sykkuwuuuu 

You have to tell me everythiiing 

Sykkuno smiled at his phone, shaking his head. Well, Deli was going to be a dog with a bone about this until he told her now. He vividly remembered having his first crush in high school, and when she’d found out, she’d tickled him until he’d been breathless and finally told her. 

**Sykkuno**

… Maybe 

I think I maybe met my soulmate 

**Deli <3 **

GADGJahkdh 

Sykkuno! That’s AWESOME! 

What’s their name? Are they pretty? MORE IMPORTANTLY what’s their sign? 

You have to be compatible 

**Sykkuno**

I kinda only saw a vague outline of him

**Deli <3 **

What?!

**Sykkuno**

It was dark okay! 

**Deli <3**

Kinky 

**Sykkuno**

NO NOT LIKE THAT 

He kind of saved me, there was a creep at the bar, and he stepped in 

Best to leave it like that. If Sykkuno told Deli the whole truth, she’d want to hunt Bryan and kill him in some creative way, that would probably involve his balls being shoved into places they shouldn’t go. 

**Sykkuno**

He gave me his beanie and we touched 

It felt like grabbing a live wire 

**Deli <3**

THAT’S AMAZING SYKKUWU! He sounds amazing <3 

I’m so happy for you! 

**Sykkuno**

Thanks :) How’d your date go btw? 

**Deli <3 **

We had to cancel, I had to finish my midterm :( 

But he’s stopping by for lunch today! 

Come join us! 

Sykkuno furrowed his brows. 

**Sykkuno**

I don’t wanna third wheel on your date 

**Deli <3 **

It’s fiiiine, Rae and Toast are coming too 

Please, Sykkuuuuwuuu, I really want you to meet him 

Deli had been really vague about this guy, she had a bad track record with guys in general, all she’d really told him was that he was a musician and an English lit major. They’d been dating for two months, usually by now she would’ve gathered enough information about the person she was dating to write a novel about them. And Sykkuno was usually the one to hear about all of it. If she finally wanted him to meet her boyfriend, he’d have to go. 

**Sykkuno**

Okay, I’ll go <3

**Deli <3**

Great! Meet us in the cafeteria after class :) 

He texted a thumbs up emoji back, and tried really hard to focus on the last bit of his complex numbers lecture. 

*** 

When Sykkuno met up with Deli half an hour later, the tiny woman immediately dragged him into a firm hug. “I can’t believe you met your soulmate without me!” she whined, as they walked to their usual table. Most people at their university went off campus to eat because the cafeteria food was soggy, lukewarm and greasy at best, but Sykkuno and Deli had agreed that their burritos (although also greasy, lukewarm and kinda soggy) were awesome on their first day there. Plus, they were ridiculously cheap. “You could’ve called!” 

“It was literally for a second, Del,” Sykkuno sat down, putting his backpack down at his feet. “We touched and then he said he had to go and ran away.” 

“He ran away?” Deli furrowed her brows. “From you?” 

“Yeah,” It was actually a little worrying. Maybe he didn’t want to be soulmates with him. Sykkuno sucked the inside of his cheek in between his teeth. He had caught him in a very compromising position. Maybe he thought he was some sort of prostitute and ran screaming for the hills? Sykkuno picked at his soggy burrito. “Can we talk about something else? How did your midterm go?” 

“Oh horrible, it sucked balls, I’m probably gonna fail.” His childhood friend puffed her bangs out of her eyes with a tired expression. Deli was pretty, she had cool, dyed black hair with sharp bangs that fell into her eyes, she was tiny, at least a head smaller than Sykkuno, with a thin waistline and an hourglass shape. She didn’t have any ears, she lost hers to Tony Aberetti in their senior year of high school, in the back of his camaro to a Blink 182 song. In her defense, Tony Aberetti had been hot, and Blink 182 was not that bad. 

“You say that every time, I’m sure you’re gonna do great. You’re very smart, Deli.” Sykkuno reassured, biting into his burrito. Lukewarm meat and cheese flooded his mouth.  _ Delicious _ . Deli smiled at him, opened her mouth to say something, but then she suddenly stood instead. 

“Toast! Rae! Over here!” She waved, and Sykkuno half turned in the direction she was waving. Rae was even tinier than Deli, had waist long brown and blonde hair, and Toast was a tall man of Asian descent, like himself, but his skin was slightly more olive tan than Sykkuno’s own pale complexion, and his hair was darker than Sykkuno’s. If he was honest, when he’d first met the other man, he’d harbored a tiny crush on the other man, but they’d quickly become friends instead. Neither of them had their ears anymore. 

“Hey guys” Sykkuno greeted, lifting his burrito up to block his face as he smiled. 

“Hey!” Rae slung her bag on top of the pale blue, scuffed cafeteria table, smiling at them as she sat down. 

“What’s up?” Toast sat beside her, dropping his bag beside him.

Deli opened her mouth, but Sykkuno cut her off, before she could spill any details about his soulmate encounter. “Deli thinks she’s going to fail her midterm,” he said, shooting her an apologetic look. 

“Oh, sure, like she thought she was going to fail chem lab, health and science, and ethics,” Toast crossed his arms, fixing Deli with a sceptical look. 

“I started this one late!” Deli protested. 

  
“Boyfriend keeping you busy?” Rae smiled devilishly. “You’re late on the details with that, btw. How am I supposed to meet a boyfriend of yours without first knowing what he’s like in bed? How can I judge him appropriately? Spill the tea, sis.” 

“There’s no tea to spill,” she said. “We haven’t actually done anything yet, he’s being very... respectful, I’m over here like ‘tear off my clothes and take me to bed’, seriously, one time I greeted him at the door in nothing but a thong and a trenchcoat, but I guess he wants to take his time.” She shrugged, but the adoration was clear on her face. She really liked this guy. He wished he could feel that way about someone. Maybe if he could find the kind stranger... 

“ _ A thong and a trenchcoat _ ? How the hell did he resist that?” Rae looked baffled.

Deli shrugged. “I guess he’s a hopeless romantic or something. Wants to wine and dine me first.” Her phone buzzed on the table and she glanced at it. “Oh, he’s here now, I’m gonna go meet him outside” She stood. “Best behavior when he comes in, okay? I don’t want him to think I’m friends with a pack of feral wolves.” 

As she left Toast and Rae howled after her, and Rae kicked Sykkuno’s shin under the table until he joined in. The howling collapsed into laughter as she gave them the finger behind her back and disappeared out into the hallway. 

Toast turned towards Sykkuno and Rae. “Okay, so how hard are we going to grill this guy? Do we want to lull him into a false sense of security first? Hit him with a couple of easy questions first, then go into the hard stuff.”

Rae rubbed a finger over her chin. “So like  _ what’s your major?  _ And then  _ have you ever sold or solicited drugs _ ?”

“I think we just trust Deli, right guys? We trust our friends and their judgements” Sykkuno tried. “I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.” 

“Of course we trust her, but-” Rae cut herself off, as her gaze wandered to the cafeteria doors. “Fuck, there they are now.” 

Sykkuno turned his head. 

Deli was arm in arm with him, almost dragging him towards their table. He was tall, his shoulders broad, he looked muscular but not in the way most fitness guys did, more taunt and lean than bulky of frame. He was wearing a nondescript black t-shirt with black, faded jeans, several bracelets around his wrists, silver rings on his fingers and a chain around his neck. His ears were pierced, three silver rings in his right, one ring and a stud in the other, and atop his head, not even attempting to hide them, were a pair of cat ears. They were as black as the inky, curly hair on his head, though the fur looked soft and smooth, not even a tuft of white or grey, just pure black. 

Sykkuno felt his face go pale.  _ It was him! The guy from the alley who’d saved him! _

_ His soulmate was standing right infront of him.  _

_ And he was Deli’s boyfriend.  _

“Everyone, this is Corpse - don’t ask - Corpse, this is Rae, Toast and Sykkuno.” Deli introduced the other man, as they stopped at the table. Sykkuno stared at him and he felt heat crept up his neck, as the other man stared back. “Please be gentle with him.”

“What’s your major?” Rae asked.

At the same time Toast asked. “Have you ever sold or solicited drugs?”

Deli started laughing as Corpse furrowed his brows. “Uhm, English, and no, haven’t sold them, but I’ve had some edibles.” His voice was as deep as Sykkuno remembered, and he watched his friends eyebrows raise as they heard it for the first time. 

“ _ Wooooow _ , dude, your voice,” Rae said. “How’s it that deep?” 

“Yeah, did you hit puberty twice or something?” 

Sykkuno was acutely aware that he hadn’t said anything yet, he was just sitting there, holding his half eaten burrito, his gaze flickering between his soulmate and Deli. If his ears weren’t already pushed flat to his head by the beanie he was wearing, they’d be lying flat to his head, but other than all the blood draining from his face, he thought he’d kept his expression fairly neutral. The other man had no reaction at all to seeing Sykkuno. Had he not realized?

“No. I have GERD, and a bunch of other shit, but the GERD is why my voice sounds like this.” Deli tugged at her boyfriend’s sleeve to get him to sit down next to her, looping her arm in his once he did. Her eyes were so adoring as she looked at him. Sykkuno felt sick.

“Oh, sorry, that sucks. But it sounds really awesome.” Rae picked up her diet coke and smiled at Corpse. “It’s kind of demon-y, but in a hot way.” 

“Thanks.” The corners of Corpse’s eyes crinkled with his smile. 

Deli finally seemed to notice that Sykkuno hadn’t said anything, and nudged his shin under the table with her shoe. “Sykkuno, say hello.” Her voice was gentle, her eyes inquisitive. “He’s a little shy.” She said to Corpse, and his soulmate looked at him with his almond shaped hazel eyes, quirking a heavy black brow at him. 

Sykkuno wanted lightning to strike him. 

“Hi. N-nice to meet you…?” He finally got out, his voice barely above a whisper. This wasn’t their first meeting though, he knew that, but did Corpse? 

“Nice to meet you too, Sykkuno.” The way his name rolled off Corpse’s tongue sent a tiny shiver down Sykkuno’s spine. 

“You okay, Sykkuno? You look kind of pale. Here, you want some of my soda?” Rae leaned over, holding the can out towards him. 

“No, I’m okay, I just - uhm, didn’t sleep well last night.” Sykkuno put down his burrito and picked up his lunch tray. “I think I should probably just go take a nap.”

He just wanted to get out of there, so he did, turning his back to concerned looks on his friends’ faces as he walked out of the cafeteria. 

Back at his dorm room, he debated what to do with his situation. He could tell Deli, but he wasn’t even actually sure anymore, maybe it’d just been a spark of static electricity, when Corpse had touched his hand. Granted, he’d never felt static electricity that powerful, but the idea calmed him a little. 

Or maybe he was wrong. It had been dark in the alley, and he’d been drunk, maybe it wasn’t Corpse. This idea was harder to dispel though, the voice alone was a dead give-away, even if he’d never seen his face that night or after. It had definitely been Corpse in the alley. 

So what was he going to say to Deli, if he wanted to tell her? 

_ “You remember that time I went to that club, you recommended? I was almost assaulted by this guy, and your boyfriend stepped in and saved me, we touched and I’m pretty sure he’s my soulmate, so could you maybe let me have him?”  _

No. Deli was in love with him. He couldn’t. There was no way. Besides, even if they were soulmates, it didn’t automatically mean they had to be involved romantically, there were plenty of stories about platonic soulmates out there. People who had settled down with significant others before they found their soulmate, or were asexual or aromantic, and didn’t want to be involved like that. 

Unfortunately, as the days passed, and Corpse became a more permanent fixture of their little friend group, it turned out, Sykkuno did want to be involved like that. 

Whether it was his fatalist, dry humor, his inert kindness with Sykkuno’s friends, and Sykkuno himself, his wheezing, almost violent laugh or the way he made it feel like it was okay for Sykkuno to come out of his shell, even just a little, Sykkuno found that by the end of the first three weeks of knowing the man, he was nursing a baby crush on his best friend’s boyfriend. 

It was a problem. 

Especially because he kept  _ embarrassing  _ himself in front of the other man. Once, when they stood in line for their usual burritos at the cafeteria, and Sykkuno had just gotten his tray, he stumbled on his shoelace, and Corpse caught his elbow, so he wouldn’t fall, it sent another jolt of electricity up his arm and Sykkuno had immediately let go of his tray, spilling food everywhere. “I know I’m drop-dead gorgeous, Sy... but you don’t actually have to fall on the floor.” He’d joked, his hazel eyes glinting with amusement. 

“Oh... is that why you called yourself Corpse?” Sykkuno had tried to banter back, absentmindedly rubbing his elbow, as he knelt down to pick up his lunch tray. And for a second they were in the exact position they’d met in. Corpse standing in front of him, Sykkuno kneeling on the floor, until Corpse knelt down to help him. 

“No, that’d make you Corpse”

“Ah… then I guess I’d be cool, like you.” He had smiled at Corpse. He had even surprised himself with how earnest he sounded, and it seemed like it surprised the other man too, because he chuckled, but didn’t pursue the conversation further. 

Another instance was when Toast had gotten his arm stuck in a vending machine, trying to get a can of soda he’d paid for out. Sykkuno had immediately jumped in to help him, while Corpse, Rae and Deli had been wheeze-laughing. When Toast had cursed at them, and asked them to help, Corpse had asked him to call him ‘step-bro’ first, which resulted in even more laughter. 

When Toast was finally free, Sykkuno had turned to the still giggling friend group. “Is that like a quote from a movie? …. I’ve never watched Step-brothers.” 

“Oh sweet precious baby” Deli had covered her mouth, trying to keep the laughter in, while Rae had to sit down, she was laughing so hard and Corpse had hugged him, just pulled him into his arms, and patted his head, making Sykkuno flush as he looked helplessly from person to person. 

“What?? Why are we laughing?”

Deli had filled him in later that day. So, not only had he learned that Corpse’s cologne was sweet and sharp, and smelled like a combination of fresh citrus and sandalwood, and his body was just as firm as Sykkuno had imagined (not that he’d thought that much about it, shut up!), he’d also learned about a subcategory of porn he’d been unaware of.

It was embarrassing. Corpse probably thought he was some kind of holier than thou prude, although their first meeting outside the club might’ve helped him in that regard, but he didn’t even know if Corpse had recognized him or not. Everytime he felt like he could’ve asked, something came up, and soon the opportunity seemed like it’d passed. 

*** 

“You seem a little down lately, Sykkuno, are you okay?” The question had been a long time coming, he’d seen it in her eyes many times over the past few weeks, but this was the first time she’d asked out loud, and she had him cornered. Literally. 

He’d been standing in the corner of the living room, next to a potted ficus. Well, standing wasn’t the right word, hiding was more appropriate. 

Corpse had invited their entire friend group to a party at his friend Dave’s house, and they’d all decided to go. While Sykkuno had resisted, saying he had work to do, the end of the semester was coming up, and Deli had guilted him into coming, since they wouldn’t see each other for the entire winter break with her going home to Houston to be with her family, and Sykkuno staying on campus.

And for a girl that had guilted him into coming, by saying she wanted to see him, before break, she sure was spending a lot of time on Corpse’s lap in the couches, running her fingers through his curly hair as they talked. 

It stung. “I’m okay…” He looked at Rae. He could tell she didn’t believe him. “I’m just-” 

“Tired?” She raised a brow at him. “Yeah, you’ve been tired a lot lately.” She followed his line of sight to Deli and Corpse on the couch. Deli was playing with one of the rings in Corpse’s human ears, rolling it between her fingers. Sykkuno threw back the jack and coke he was drinking. “Does it have anything to do with-” 

He didn’t let her finish. “Do you think piercings are cool?” 

His question threw her off enough to clear the concerned look on her face. “Yeah, they’re pretty cool.”

“I’ve always kind of wanted one... but I knew my mom would never let me, so I never got one.” 

He was a little drunk, maybe a little past tipsy, his eyes a little glossy but determined, as they returned to Rae. 

“Pierce my ear, Rae.” 

“Oh my god” She breathed. “I’ve always wanted to pierce someone’s ear. Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yes. Definitely. Do it.” 

“Okay, okay, okay - okay, we need, like, ice and a disinfecting swap? And a needle?” She was already pulling one of her own earrings out, a small stud with a diamond in it. “You can have this one” She handed it over. “I’ll go get supplies and meet you upstairs in the guest room?” They’d gotten a house tour first thing as they arrived. 

Sykkuno nodded, throwing one last glance at Deli and Corpse, and saw the other man getting up from the couch, bending over to kiss her as he did, before he darted up the stairs. 

The guest room was sparsely decorated, containing only a double poster bed with two nightstands, but well isolated, Sykkuno could barely hear the thumping of the music down stairs, as he closed the door behind him. He belatedly wished he’d brought a drink with him, but he didn’t have time to go get one, or reconsider his decision, before the door burst open again, and Rae stood there, brandishing a long, thin sewing needle, a glass filled with ice and a wild look on her face.

“I told the other’s we’d be a minute.” She said, smiling devilishly. “Get on the bed”

Sykkuno swallowed, feeling the small diamond stud in his hand. 

“O-okay, let’s do this.” 

He lay down flat on the bed, his eyes tracking Rae as she knelt on the bed beside him, putting the cup of ice down on the nightstand. He gulped a big, steadying breath. He did want this. He did. 

He felt the cold touch of the disinfecting swap, closely followed by the even colder touch of an ice cube on his earlobe and shivered.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your mental state, by the way, just because I’m distracted.” She murmured, as she brought the needle closer. He clenched his eyes shut. The prick of the needle was slightly dulled by the coldness of the ice cube, as she pressed. “Oh god, that’s blood” 

She sounded nauseous, and he opened his eyes, to find her face completely pale. “Fuck, I think I’m going to throw up -” 

They both flinched as the door to the bedroom opened. 

Corpse furrowed his brows at them. “Uhm… am I... interrupting something?” 

“I’msorrySykkuno!” Rae dropped the needle, grabbed her mouth and darted out of the bedroom.

Sykkuno sat up, looking in the direction Rae had bolted. “Uh, no. Rae was going to pierce my ear.” He opened his hand that still held the stud Rae had given him. 

“I think the blood made her sick...”

“Oh.” Corpse closed the bedroom door, the sounds of the party down stairs fading again. “I can do that.” He said behind his mask. 

“Uhm…” Sykkuno hesitated. “Are you sure?” 

“Yeah. I did two of my own.” He crossed the room, picked up the needle that Rae had left behind. “Lie down.” 

He did. He felt the mattress dip with the added weight, as Corpse climbed onto the bed. He didn’t sit on the edge of it, like Rae had, instead, he climbed in over Sykkuno’s body, his knees resting on either side of Sykkuno’s hips, hovering above him.

Sykkuno’s breath hitched, as the familiar electric jolt of Corpse’s touch came. 

He didn’t know what to do with his hands. Resting them above his head seemed weird, and putting them on Corpse’s jeans clad thighs was out of the question, so he just fisted them in the sheets right next to Corpse’s knees, as the other man loomed over him. 

He was wearing a tightly fitted black t-shirt, that clung to him like second-skin, his chest and stomach muscles traces of definition under the soft looking fabric, with dark jeans and sneakers, his usual array of jewelry hanging around his neck, wrists and decorating his fingers. His cat ears were still there as well, proudly perched on top of his head. Even though he and Deli had been dating for almost three months now. Sykkuno’s own were hidden beneath his beanie. 

He held the needle pinched between two fingers, as he dug a lighter out from his pocket, lighting it with a flick of his thumb, before running the flame along the needle to disinfect it. A step he and Rae had almost forgotten. 

“Will it… uhm, will it hurt?” Sykkuno asked, hoping his voice didn’t betray the nerves he felt, at the combined assault of the fact that his ear was going to be pierced soon, and the head and pressure of Corpse’s thigh muscles pressing into his sides. 

“Only for a second” His low voice murmured. 

Sykkuno suppressed the shiver that wanted to run down his spine at the low tilt of Corpse’s bass-y tenor. 

“Why do you hide ‘em?” 

“W-what?” 

Corpse nodded towards his beanie, as he leaned over to grab an ice cube. “The ears.” He said. “I understand hiding them in a nightclub, but you hide ‘em all the time.” 

This was the first time Corpse had given him any clue, that he recognized him from that night outside the club, and Sykkuno froze beneath him. 

“You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.” The mattress shifted underneath them, as Corpse shifted forward, leaning in over Sykkuno. He couldn’t suppress the shiver this time, as the ice cube touched his ear, and this time it wasn’t just because it was cold. Corpse was leaning in, inches from Sykkuno’s face. Sykkuno could’ve counted his eyelashes if he wanted to. They were long and dark over his half-lidded, almond shaped eyes.

“I… I don’t like the attention…” Sykkuno stammered. “And it’s, uhm, embarrassing. I’m 23.” 

“Not liking the attention is valid,” Corpse said, holding the ice cube to his ear, as he leaned in even closer. Sykkuno’s eyes darted across his face, he felt like all the air inside his chest was trapped, and was slightly worried Corpse could hear or physically feel his ear pounding. 

“But it’s not embarrassing. Be proud of your choices.” Sykkuno barely felt the prick of the needle, just pressure and then a pinch of pain that slowly became more intense, until all of the air, trapped in his chest, wooshed out in a gasp. “In fact it’s kind of hot.”

“It-it is?”

In the low light of the room, and this close, he could see exactly how dilated Corpse’s pupils were. So big and so black, almost taking over the entirety of the hazel color. 

“Mhmm… There.” Corpse leaned back, drawing away from Sykkuno. “All done. You’re going to want to get some disinfectant for it, keep the earring in for at least six weeks, rotate it once in a while, and you should be good to go.” 

For a moment Sykkuno just stared at him, his lips slightly parted. 

“We should get back to the party.” 

Corpse stood, and Sykkuno slowly pushed himself up on his forearms. “I… I need a minute. I’ll be right there.” 

  
“Okay” Corpse smiled at him, and left the guest bedroom, leaving a flushed, frustrated, and uncomfortably hard in his jeans Sykkuno behind. He slowly reached up and pulled off his beanie, letting his dark brown cat ears spring up. They wiggled a little at the sudden freedom and coolness of the room.  _ What even was his life?  _

**Author's Note:**

> I'm once again asking for ~~free serotonin~~ comments and kudos!   
> This will be multiple chapters regardless, but comments keep the muses alive and running smoothly!


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